Mask order extended to all Ohio counties
As DeWine announced order, the state reported its second-highest number of daily virus cases: 1,500.
All Ohioans will be required to wear a face mask while out in public starting at 6 p.m. today, in an expansion of the current patchwork of county-level and city-level mask orders.
The announcement by Gov. Mike DeWine comes a week after he gave an evening address warning the state has reached a critical point with cases and hospitalizations rising, and that the window of opportunity to change course is closing.
“Wearing masks will make a difference. It will determine what our fall looks like. We want kids to go back to school, we want to see sports — to do that it’s very important that all Ohioans wear a mask,” DeWine said.
As DeWine announced the new requirement Wednesday afternoon, the state reported 1,500 new coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours in Ohio, which is the second highest daily amount of cases reported during the pandemic. The highest was last Friday when the state saw more than 1,600 cases reported in one day.
Starting tonight, people in Ohio who are 10 years or older must wear a mask while inside nonresidential locations, while outside and unable to keep 6 feet apart from others, and while waiting for or using taxis or ride shares or public transportation.
Exemptions are included for those with a medical condition or disability, those communicating with someone with a disability, people exercising or playing sports, those officiating religious services, people involved in public safety, and those actively eating or drinking.
Prior to the order, several cities including Dayton had enacted mask requirements for indoor public spaces and outdoors when people can’t maintain distance from each other. In addition, the DeWine administration had required masks in counties that had reached at least a “level 3” alert on the state’s alert system, such as Montgomery County and Butler County. The alert system updated every Thursday on coronavirus.ohio.gov uses seven indicators of coronavirus spread and based on those indicators ranks counties based on the level of spread in a community, with a “level 4’ being the highest risk.
DeWine said part of the reason he expanded the order to all counties was “pretty good evidence” that mask-wearing was slowing the rate of new cases reported in level 3 counties.
After talking to health commissioners and mayors recently, the governor said it is clear that more people are wearing masks in level 3 counties.
DeWine also announced a travel advisory for people coming to Ohio from states with positive testing rates of 15% or higher. The advisory recommends that those people self-quarantine for 14 days. The travel advisory covers nine states at this time, including Texas, Florida, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Geor- gia, Alabama, Mississippi and South Carolina.
“This applies to those who live in Ohio and those traveling here from these states, whether they are traveling for businesses or vacation- ing,” DeWine said.
The governor also stressed the importance of following safety guidelines set by the state after an outbreak of 19 coronavirus cases was traced back to a county fair.
“We want fairs to continue,” DeWine said. “But I spoke with community fair managers today and expressed that they must follow the rules.”
He also urged Ohioans to limit social interactions with large groups and to wear masks and social distance while with others after multiple outbreaks have been traced back to house par- ties, sleepovers, weddings, bridal showers and other family gatherings.
There have been 3,235 deaths attributed to the virus in Ohio since the start of the outbreak, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
As of July 22, there were 1,098 people admitted to the hospital in Ohio from COVID-19, including 347 in the ICU and 169 on a venti- lator. Two weeks ago, there were 908 COVID-19 hospitalized patients, including 304 in the ICU and 156 on a ventilator.
Ohio Hospital Association President and CEO Mike Abrams said in a statement following the order that with COVID-19 infections on the rise in communities across Ohio, the hospital group supports DeWine’s statewide mandatory mask order.
“This is a very serious situation that has enormous implications for every Ohioan. Our livelihood, economy and health care system all depend on the cooperation and support of everyone in wearing masks and practicing social distancing to reduce spread and exposure,” Abrams said. “We urge all Ohioans to follow the mandate and do their part to stop the spread of this disease.”